Indian and Southeast Asian ArtLauren Egensperger Emily Samsa

Map

Map

Works Cited• Barrons• https://

www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-art-history/introduction-ap-arthistory/a/required-works-of-art-for-ap-art-history

• http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/39328

• http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/24548• http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/indianart/origins.asp• https://

www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/south-asia/hindu-art/a/shiva-as-lord-of-the-dance-nataraja

Contextual Information• Rich artistic traditions were exchanged throughout the civilizations of Asia• Buddhism spread through East Asia• Chinese religions influenced by Buddhism• Buddhism is a visual art form, noted for religious images and narratives • Buddhism is a spiritual force that teaches how to cope with a world that is full of misery• Central figure is Buddha (563-483 B.C.E.) not a God• Rejected worldly concerns for fulfillment • Buddhists aim to end the cycle of suffering and achieve Nirvana • Buddhist Iconography

– Lion- Buddha’s royalty– The Wheel- Buddha’s law– Lotus- Buddha’s pure nature– Empty Throne- Remainder of Buddha’s presence

• Indian art and architecture is expressed by religious temples and shrines• Wide range of materials used in this region • Asian art spread throughout the world through trade• Asian art heavily influenced the art of Europe

Characteristics of Buddha Smaller Buddha: Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha

Larger Buddha: Virocana, the universal Buddha

Treatment of drapery varies from region to region

In central India, drapery is tight fitting, resting on one shoulder with folds slanting diagonally across the chest

In other areas, Buddha wears a heavy robe that covers both shoulders, similar to roman toga, showing Hellenistic influence

Buddha from Bamiyan• Afghanistan• Cut rock with plaster• 400-800 AD• First colossal

Buddhas• One is 175 feet tall,

the other is 115 feet tall

• Halo shape around the body

• Originally covered in pigment and gold

• Served as models for later large-scale rock-cut images in china

• Destroyed by Taliban in an act of iconoclasm in 2001

Jowo Rinpoche Jokhang Temple• Tibet• Metal with

semiprecious stones and paint

• Tibet’s earliest and foremost Buddhist temple

• Founded in 647 by the first ruler that unified Tibet

• Believed to have been blessed by Buddha himself

• Depicts Sakyamuni Buddha

Borobudur Temple• Volcanic stone masonry• Java Indonesia• 750-842 AD• Buddhist Monument containing 504 life-size Buddha’s, 1460 narrative relief sculptures • Pyramidal in form, aligned with four cardinal points of the compass • Lower stories represent the world of desire and negative impulses • Middle areas represent the world of forms, people have to control these negative impulses • Top story is the world of formulas, where the physical world and worldly desire are removed • Five terraces of identical stepped square plan• Enclosed stupa on top • Cross Cultural Comparisons: pyramid shaped monuments • -Great Pyramids• -White Temple and Ziggurat

Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja) with a Nimbus

• Cast bronze • 11th century• Vigorously dancing with one foot on a

dwarf, the Demon of Ignorance and illusion which leads mankind astray

• Shiva has four hands • The hand pointing to his raised left

foot, signifies refuge for the troubled soul

• Periodically destroys the universe (using fire) so it can be reborn again

• With another hand he creates the gesture that relieves fear

• conveys the Indian conception of the never-ending cycle of time

• Cross Cultural Comparisons: Sacred Images

-Saint Luke from the Lindisfarne

Lakshmana Temple• Cambodia • Sand stone masonry• Hindu architecture• The center is the small

room containing the shrine

• Narrow interior allowed only high priests to enter into the presence of the god inside

• Corbelled roof, beehive quality

• Bands of horizontal moldings unite the temple

• Exterior similar to Borobudur, Java

Sculptures show regeneration

The temple of Angkor Wat• Cambodia• Sandstone• Corbelled gallery roofs• Dedicated to Vishnu• Horror Vaculi of high reliefs• Mix of Buddhist and Hindu character• Kings identified with gods• Towers symbolize five peaks of a sacred mountain said to

be the center of the spiritual and physical universe

Jayavarman VII Khmer King•Buddhist and Hindu iconography

Churning of the ocean of milk•Sculpture in rhythmic dance•Repetition of shapes

Jahangir preferring a Sufi Shakyh to Kings

• India• Artist-Bichitr • Watercolor, gold and ink on paper• Seated on an hourglass throne to

symbolize time• Surrounded by sun and moon,

symbolize Jahangir as the source of light

• Jahangir is being handed a book- considered a respected object

Taj Mahal

• White marble mausoleum • Built in 17th century by India's

emperor, Shah Jahan • Tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal,

who died after giving birth to the couple’s 14th child

• Symbol of India’s rich history• Combined Indian, Persian and

Islamic influences• Famous for its monumental scale,

gardens, lavish ornamentation, and use of white marble

• One of the world’s most celebrated structures

Great Stupa• Sanchi, India• Stone masonry and sandstone

dome• Shows Buddhist architecture • Principle place of early Buddhist

worship • Shrine, mound shape• Three umbrellas represent

Buddha, Buddha's law, and Monastic Orders

• Square enclosure around umbrellas symbolizes a sacred tree surrounded by a fence

• Originally painted white• Dome of heaven • Buddha symbolized by an empty

throne • Horror Vaculi and high relief

sculptures

Comparing the Pantheon with the Great Stupa

• Pantheon, a Roman temple that was built to be “the temple of all Gods” made during the High Empire in Rome, Italy (118-125 CE)

• Great Stupa, a Buddhist monument from the Maurya Dynasty in Sanchi, India (3rd century B.C.E.)

• Both temples• The major theme that ties them together is

the idea that they are connecting real world with the heavenly realm

• Similar styles– Enter through a series of columns – Pillars add symmetry– Structures are axially aligned around

the center of their dome– Dome as the defining feature and focal

point